Ocean phytoplankton and algae produce 70-80% of the earths atmospheric oxygen. Why is tree conservation for oxygen so popular over ocean conservation then?
In: Biology
because the goal of most conservation is to appear to be doing something without hurting the bottom line of big businesses that fund them. for other examples see air pollution regulations – cars these days are very efficient and a tiny drop in the bucket of total air pollution but thet get the most attention because trying to improve industrial air pollution hurts business
It’s not so much about O2 creation but more about desertification. TreesThere is a point of no return retain moisture and stabilize the ground.
Trees get hype and we know oxygen is hugely important, but the significance of oxygen production by trees is overestimated and the significance of trees for everything else is underestimated, by laymen, mostly.
Trees produce oxygen and absorb carbon. These are great things. But they also: provide habitats for other animals and organisms; stabilize the soil by digging a web of roots that act as a skeletal support for raw earth; retain moisture from the environment, helping the ecosystem maintain a balance of moisture between the rains; shed their leaves annually, helping enrich the soil around them; protect against wind; provide shade; and while we don’t understand all of the scientific reasons why yet, trees are scientifically proven to improve the happiness and health of people the observe and live around them (https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/energy-environment/wp/2015/07/09/scientists-have-discovered-that-living-near-trees-is-good-for-your-health/?noredirect=on).
Trees really are amazing for life on land. The ocean is teeming with life, but land is harder for life, because soil dries up and it takes a lot more energy to maintain our own temperatures, moisture levels, and to even move around on land as opposed to drifting in the water.
It’s called rain forest and not oxygen forest , they play a very important role in our water cycle
Simply put, trees are… Well, trees. Trees are cool, you can climb them, sit under their shade, some grow food, all kinds of good stuff.
Algae and phytoplankton? They’re floating ocean goop. Not exactly charismatic stuff.
I think it’s a bit simpler than others are explaining. I think it’s because most people don’t know that fact. I certainly didn’t before you asked this question! And it’s very difficult to effectively propagate public awareness of facts like that without a massive cultural push from many sources, the likes of which deforestation has had over the last few decades.
Makes a strong political statement! Not about the facts as it is with politics. But trees are nicer to look at and smell better than what is essentially pond scum.
It’s actually more about the carbon capture capabilities of trees and the habitats they create for various organisms. And they help with oxygen
AFAIR it’s a bit hard to boost phytoplankton production. You need to seed it with iron / minerals from the land. Usually this gets taken care of by the winds. But if you want to manually seed it, the process will produce more CO2 than you will sequester this way. Trees are a lot easier to work with.
The first episode of One Strange Rock goes into this exact topic! (Sorry to not answer directly, but it’s a great show on Netflix and has an easily accessible first episode on oxygen creation)
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